EA’s Auditorium: Aesthetically Magnificent
With titles like NBA Live, Madden, and Tiger Woods PGA Tour, EA is at the pinnacle of the sports gaming world for handheld devices. However, sometimes the game developers give us an app that just shows off their versatility in gaming. Welcome to Auditorium where you enter a black lifeless screen accompanied by arrows and a stream of colors. What you have to do is use those arrows to direct the colors into it’s corresponding box. This puzzle app is the first of it’s kind and is sure to challenge you to think with your eyes, ears, and mind.
Gameplay:
Darkness fills the screen as you open the app. There are no instructions or tutorials. The game assumes that you are smart enough to know what you are suppose to do so I’d advice every gamer to check out the Help section. It states that it’s really all about the experience, both visually and aurally…so take a deep breath, relax, and start playing.
The flow is a masterful stream of many tiny audio-visual particles. THey can be controlled and manipulated separately. Your goal is to guide them using arrows to an Audio Container that matches their color in order to proceed to the next level. The game starts you off with manipulating just one arrow and one color coordination. As you progress, the game throws different variety of challenges your way. For instance, there will be a various amount of colors or “flow”, that you will have to deal with and obstacles you will have to avoid in order to reach your goal. Why this game is so aesthetically pleasing is that as you direct the “colors” to their corresponding Audio Containers, music plays, and it’s wonderful symphonies sweetly playing through your speakers.
In some levels, or “Acts”, there will be up multiple boxes, each representing an instrument in the symphony you must complete. As you fill up more and more boxes in the level, the more complete the symphony will sound. Once you’ve filled every single box to the top with it’s corresponding color, the symphony is complete and you proceed to the next level.
Controls:
As confusing as the game sounds, it’s really not that complicated. Each act contains puzzles and all you need to do is direct the “flow” to the corresponding audio containers with the arrows.
Manipulating the arrows is a little more complicated however. The arrows are your way of manipulating the flow, both the speed and direction of any particle they encounter. There are two ways to operate the controls. First, touch and drag the control icon to move the arrow around. Second, pinch or expand the radius of the arrow to change it’s area of influence.
Literally the only gripe I had with the controls is that sometimes you want to move your arrow a pinch to the right. But your finger is a little on the thicker side and one little slide of your finger and that arrow can go flying across the screen. Slight movements are difficult because sometimes the arrow moves more than you would like it to. It’s a minor annoyance that the sensitivity at times is a little shaky but besides that the controls are solid.
What We Liked:
+ Innovative and ingenious premise + + Additional purchasable content + Excellent sound quality + Aesthetically beautiful + Learning curve not too steep + Many alternative ways to solve puzzles + Obstacles and effects help give the game variety
What We Disliked:
- A tad short – Some of the symphony ballads sound a little too similar – Control sensitivity a little shaky at times
Final Verdict:
EA’s Auditorium is as aesthetically pleasing as it is incredibly entertaining and addicting. The app premise of the game is basic yet innovative, the gameplay is challenging yet exhilarating. It’s an all around treat for the eyes, the ears, and your fingers. With a free Lite version available in the App Store there’s no reason for anyone to not at least give it a shot. Auditorium deserves to take a bow for delivering such a magnificent symphony for all of us gamers to enjoy. Bravo!
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Category: Editors Choice Awards, Games
